“I know, right? I keep telling her to branch out and get another damn job. The girl went to school and got a fucking business degree, and she’s hunched over a computer scheduling people’s teeth cleanings for the old man.”
“I always wondered what she was going to be when she grew up. You said a business degree?” I asked.
“Oh yeah. Was hell-bent on starting her own online thing or whatever. But Mom died, and she studied hard to graduate early. Dad offered her the job, so she took it. She said it was to pay off her student loans, but I think that was just an excuse because she was afraid she’d fail at what she really wanted to do. I don’t think it’s healthy for either of them.”
I thought back to the anonymous email I’d gotten that had brought me back. If Hollis knew someone had sent me that email, he’d be livid that I was in town to watch his sister, too. He had always been protective of her, but it seemed like he had only gotten more so over the years.
I could still see those words in the email.
Theresa needs you. She’s in trouble. Please come home and help her.
“Why isn’t it healthy for them?” I asked.
“He’s clung to her a lot ever since Mom died. Like tonight. She’s Dad’s ‘plus one’ for some banquet. They’ll dance and eat and drink, and he’ll say it’s a father-daughter night, but I think it’s because he doesn’t want to go by himself and he’s trying to ward off any interest from other available women.”
“That’s fucked up.”
“It is, and I know Theresa knows it, but I can’t get her to draw that boundary. I think she feels guilty because she and my parents were barely talking when Mom died. It’s like she thinks this is her penance. But she’s got nothing to feel guilty about,” Hollis said.
I thought again to the email. Maybe it wasn’t all about Ike. Maybe this person knew that Theresa needed saving from herself too.
“Why do you think she stays with this Ike guy?” I asked.
Hollis shrugged his broad shoulders. “Beats the shit out of me man. Maybe because it’s just easier because they’ve been together so long. I can’t think of any other reason she’d put up with that asshole.”
“And to think Glen thought I was the bad seed,” I muttered.
“You know he eventually told me he threw you out because he thought you were fucking Theresa?”
“Are you fucking serious?” I asked, incredulous. “There’s no way in hell I would have ever done that!”
“That’s what I fucking said!” Hollis agreed.
“What the fuck made him think that?” I asked.
“According to Mom, he heard Jane and Theresa giggling
over you one night or some shit. Said my sister was talking about kissing you. She had a teenage fucking crush, and my dad lost his shit over it.”
For some reason, the thought of Theresa fantasizing about kissing me even all those years ago, made goosebumps prickle my skin. She’d been an awkward kid, but there had still been something about her; something that told me she’d been a knockout when she grew up.
I shook my head and let out a sigh. “Well, I did fine for myself. No reason to worry about me now,” I said.
“Yeah, that car out there tells me you’re doing just fine.”
“Don’t like it parked next to your Ford Focus?” I asked with a grin.
“It makes my dick look very small, yes. Want another beer?”
“Gladly. And I’ll buy the next case.”
“And you’ll get the fancy shit, too, you rich bitch!”
I chuckled and tossed my empty bottle to Hollis. I turned my head and looked across the road just in time to see a car pull up. I cocked my body and slung my arm over the couch, watching as a curvy leg stepped out of the car, followed by a beautiful head of curly brown hair, thick thighs, and a chest that made me salivate.
Theresa.
Holy fuck had she grown up. And I’d been right.